Technology Archives - Page 10 of 33

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working at Timna have discovered fabrics dyed in royal purple from the time of David and Solomon. The underlying journal article is here. An early report from 2016 is here.

A mosque excavated in Tiberias may date back to the earliest years of Islam.

Several clay tablets discovered in the 1960s at Tell Deir Alla have mystified scholars, but a recent study has led to a translation along with the recognition that this is the only Late Bronze Age alphabet known from Jordan.

An endowment has secured a collection of historic Hebrew texts for Oxford University.

A new app created by an Episcopal church in South Carolina allows users to traverse a 98-mile path that follows the Gospel of Luke. You can access the app here.

Smithsonian Magazine: The Best Board Games of the Ancient World

The Onion: Archaeologists Uncover Separate Team Of Archaeologists Digging Towards Them From Other Side Of Globe

New from Yale: Ancient Israel, from Its Beginnings through 332 BCE, edited by Jeffrey H. Tigay and Adele Berlin.

Robert Cargill is stepping down as editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.

This week on The Book and the Spade, Gordon Govier reviews archaeology plans for 2021.

Bryan Windle chooses the top four reports in biblical archaeology for this month.

John DeLancey and Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours have released a new collection of 380 enhanced aerial photos of Israel (and a few sites in Jordan). Each of the 55 sites featured in this collection have seven photos each in this set. It is now available for purchase in thumb drive or download formats.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Mark Hoffman, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jordan, Photo Resources, Resources, Technology, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A study by the Weizmann Institute dates the eruption of Santorini to 1630–1620 BC based on radiocarbon dating and an analysis of an olive branch’s growth rings.

Four water cisterns have been discovered under the acropolis of the classical city of Metropolis in western Turkey.

An ancient aqueduct near Troy is being restored, with hopes of attracting tourists.

Scholars searching for clues to Cleopatra’s appearance find conflicting data in Roman coins, Egyptian relief, and imperial propaganda.

Elaine Sullivan has created a 3D model of Saqqara that allows the viewer to jump through time to see the cemetery in different eras.

The BBC reports on ancient businesswomen involved in trade between Assur and Kanesh.

Covid-19 has led to an increase in looting of ancient sites in Iraq (6-min video).

You don’t have to wait until your next visit to the Edomite capital of Bozrah (Busayra) to view the new signs erected describing the temple, palace, and fortifications.

The world’s first hanging obelisk has been installed in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The Acropolis Museum of Athens is the first museum in Greece to be fully digitized.

A portion of the imperial garden of Caligula’s palace in Rome is opening this spring to visitors.

New: Landscapes of Survival: The Archaeology and Epigraphy of Jordan’s North-Eastern Desert and Beyond, edited by Peter M.M.G. Akkermans (hardback, paperback, ebook, or read online for free)

In an interview on Jan 26, Katie Chin, Acquisitions Editor at Brill Publishers, will talk about why she accepts or rejects manuscripts, and about practical tools for increasing scholars’ chances of being published. Attendance is free but registration is required.

This new archaeological biography on Darius the Great provides background, photographs, and archaeological discoveries to illuminate the life of one of the most important rulers of Persia.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, A.D. Riddle, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Alexander Schick

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Mesopotamia, Museums, Persia, Resources, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

An Egyptian mummy with a woman’s portrait turned out to be a 5-year-old girl, based upon a study using high-resolution scans and X-ray microbeams.

SURA is a new project that will make available to the public 7,000 historic glass plate negatives from the Egyptological library of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.

“New analysis of a First Book of Breathing papyrus sheds light on its derivation from the Book of the Dead and postmortem deification in ancient Egypt.”

Wayne Stiles shares photos and looks at lessons to be learned from the pyramids of Giza.

Archaeologists are using artificial intelligence to analyze satellite images to identify ancient structures.

The Greek Reporter has created a short video showing the conservation and transportation of the mosaic of the Villa of Dionysus at Dion.

Carl Rasmussen shares photographs of Sinope, a likely recipient of Peter’s first epistle.

Gordon Govier asks, “Where are the other fake fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls?”

I just learned about thebiblesleuth.com, a weekly blog that links the Pentateuch with archaeological findings, following the Jewish annual reading cycle of the Torah. The blog is written in serial format, with the focus this year on the Iron Age IIA period (early Israelite monarchy).

In a three-minute video, John Currid answers the question, “Why is archaeology useful to Christians?”

Louise Pryke: “Nebuchadnezzar Explained: Warrior King, Rebuilder of Cities, and Musical Muse”

“Owning the Past: From Mesopotamia to Iraq” is a new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.

Accordance’s Black Friday sale includes big savings on collections, including a number of graphics collections.

James Sanders died last month.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Ferrell Jenkins, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, Museums, Photo Resources, Sad News, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A first ever First Temple-era gold granule bead was discovered during wet sifting of earth from the Temple Mount by a nine-year-old.”

Jamie Fraser and Caroline Cartwright give a very interesting account of the discovery and excavation of an olive oil factory in Gilead.

Israel’s Good Name shares his adventures at various sites in the western Jezreel Valley.

Leen Ritmeyer uses archaeological and textual sources to locate the Music Chamber in Herod’s temple.

Though most don’t believe that it is Mount Sinai, Har Karkom is home to 40,000 rock engravings.

According to Jeffrey Chadwick, the width of a gate at Gath is the same dimensions as the height of giant Goliath.

The release of Ken Dark’s new book has put in the news again the author’s theory that he has identified the house believed by the Byzantines to have been the house of Jesus.

“Visiting Sepphoris” is the latest video tour hosted by John DeLancey.

COVID restrictions have helped researchers excavating an underwater site off Israel to develop methods that will make future undersea excavation more precise and efficient.

A doctoral dissertation proposes that a silver shortage in Israel in the early Iron Age led to the creation of an alloy composed mainly of copper.

The next ASOR Zoom webinar: Eric Meyers, “Early Synagogues, Jesus, and Galilee—A Jewish Perspective,” on Dec 13, 7:30 EST.

Yesterday we released the Photo Companion to 1-2 Corinthians. These two volumes include 2,500 images.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Ferrell Jenkins, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan, Lectures, Negev, Philistines, Photo Resources, Technology, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

More than 100 sarcophagi from the Ptolemaic period have been discovered at Saqqara in Egypt.

“More than 200 years after the rediscovery of an Egyptian temple [at Esna], a German-Egyptian research team has uncovered the original colors of inscriptions that are around 2,000 years old.”

CT scans are providing new information about two Egyptian mummies buried in the Roman period.

The American Research Center in Egypt has released two new virtual tours: the C-Ware Vessel and the KV 55 Coffin.

A 17 million euro renovation at the Giza Pyramids includes a new visitor center, an electric bus, and a restaurant.

Archaeologists working in southern Turkey have dubbed a newly discovered mosaic “the Mona Lisa of Kadirli.”

Mathematical models to determine the missing lengths of ancient scrolls are untrustworthy. The underlying journal article is here.

On this week’s The Book and the Spade, Jeffrey Kloha provides a virtual tour of the revised Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Museum of the Bible.

Logos has released an audio version of the Hebrew Bible, read by Abraham Shmuelof, available for free.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a map and photographs illustrating the island of Patmos, the place of John’s exile when he wrote the book of Revelation.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

Tagged Egypt, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A Canaanite city and palace at Tel Kabri were apparently destroyed by an earthquake circa 1700 BC. The underlying journal article is here.

Archaeologists have discovered a winepress south of Sidon in Lebanon that dates to the 7th century BC, making it the oldest known Phoenician winepress. The underlying journal article is here.

An inkwell from the 1st century AD was discovered during excavations at Khirbet Brakhot in Gush Etzion.

“An experiment with unglazed clay pots hinted at how much archaeologists can learn about ancient cultures from cooking vessels.”

A PhD student at Tel Aviv University is developing a new method of dating ancient mudbrick walls by analyzing one of its components: human and animal waste.

Elon Gilad and Ruth Schuster look at the development of Hellenistic Judaism in Israel, including seven synagogues with mosaics depicting the Zodiac.

Lutz Martin shares the interesting story of Max von Oppenheim, a German Jew who ended up excavating Tell Halaf in Syria and then founding a private museum which the Allies destroyed in a bombing raid. Fortunately, that is not the end of the story.

National Geographic runs a story on the discovery of Petra by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of the arch of Domitian at Hierapolis.

New from Eisenbrauns: Ramat Raḥel IV: The Renewed Excavations by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005–2010): Stratigraphy and Architecture, by Oded Lipschits, Manfred Oeming, and Yuval Gadot. Use code NR20 for 30% off.

Applications for fellowships at the Albright Institute in Jerusalem are now being accepted.

The next Zoom virtual lecture for the Anglo Israel Archaeological Society will be by Yana Tchekhanovets on 1st October. Her topic is The Holy City: Fourth-Century Jerusalem in the Light of the New Archaeological Data. To register email [email protected].

Steve Notley will be speaking about his excavations at el-Araj, a strong candidate for Bethsaida, in a lecture hosted on October 1 by the Museum of the Bible. Registration and fee are required for both the in-person and virtual options.

NYU and the IAA are sponsoring a virtual conference on October 25-28 entitled “The Land that I Will Show You”: Recent Archaeological and Historical Studies of Ancient Israel. A full program is not yet posted. Registration is free and required.

Lois Tverberg has several online speaking events coming up, including a week-long study on “How God Used the Torah to Save the World.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser

Tagged Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Lectures, Technology, Weekend Roundup